Mordy’s Birth Story
Shortly after we moved back to the US in the summer of 2014, I become pregnant again with Mordecai (aka Mordy in our family). Like Ketzi, I suffered from HG and was throwing up anywhere from 5-10 times per day. Thankfully this time around, I knew what was up, and asked for medication right away during my first prenatal visit.
Everything seemed fairly normal, till some blood work came back showing I had a rare clotting disorder called Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome. My first OB was not very educated about it and told me at my 16-week appointment that my baby would likely get a blood clot in their cord or placenta and die before birth. She referred me to a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist for further consultation. I spent the week between appointments crying A LOT and asking all our friends and family to pray. The MFM was very kind and surprised me by saying my OB had been completely wrong. My baby would likely be fine, but I needed to start low-dose baby aspirin to reduce my risk for clots and other complications. I would be followed closely and have a few extra ultrasounds, but this blood clotting disorder did not mean my baby would die. I was so shocked, relieved, and a bit angry at the poor bedside manner of my first OB.
During that time, we moved from Hoffman Estates to Deerfield, so I transferred MFM practices to Northshore University Healthcare at Evanston Hospital. The head of the MFM department met with Jeremiah and I for an hour during the first appointment. We went over my entire health and pregnancy history, plus she reordered blood work to confirm the previous diagnosis. Everything came back the same, but they still reassured me that baby would likely be just fine as long as I continued my regimen of low-dose aspirin daily.
We also had to manage the fact that my first pregnancy had involved PPROM. The most likely reason for my water breaking early in Uganda was an infection, but to prevent any pre-term labor or an even earlier rupturing of membranes, we started weekly progesterone shots. They were incredibly painful and I hated getting them each week, but I made it to full term* at 37 weeks. We all breathed a major sign of relief then!
My blood pressure started creeping up rapidly though and my blood clotting disorder did put me at increased risk for developing severe pre-eclampsia, so we scheduled an induction at 38 weeks. My doctors were HIGHLY encouraging of me pursuing a VBAC and planned to do the induction as safely and gently as possible to try and help my TOLAC be successful.
Jeremiah and I went in early Monday morning and expected (like most parents) to me holding our baby by the afternoon or early evening (cue crazy laughter!!). The midwife on-call decided to use the foley bulb first. I was too anxious to tolerate its placement and opted to try IV pain meds first to help me relax. I was still shaking and too scared to relax enough, so I got an epidural (before my induction had even begun!!). The epidural worked like magic and enabled them to get things going finally.
My L&D nurses were amazing and worked to change my position every 30 minutes. The foley bulb came out after a few hours and they started Pitocin. It was a LONG and SLOW process. In total from start to finish, this induction took 40 hours. About 20 hours in, I said I just wanted to be done and asked them to take me to the OR. My OB reassured me that baby was doing great, I was doing great, and it would be better for us all to keep going. So I just kept alternating between sleeping and watching episodes of Say Yes to the Dress!! LOL That’s one of my strongest memories still years later… my nurses and I discussing which wedding dresses we liked best! :-)
Finally, it was time to start pushing. I pushed fully on my back for just under 3 hours. It went by crazy fast though as I listened to Lecrae and jammed out to my Christian rap music for pushing motivation. Our sweet baby boy emerged with his cord wrapped around his neck two times and with his hand on his face. He did some damage coming out, but I was really thankful to have achieved the VBAC I so badly wanted.
At first, Mordy was completely purple and not making any sound. The team called a code and our room flooded with NICU staff. It felt like an eternity, but after some light resuscitation, Mordy was put back on my bare chest and we began nursing. While my placenta was delivered and my repair was completed, Jeremiah and I spent time admiring our new baby boy. We sang The Doxology to him (as we do for all our babies at birth) to praise God for his safe arrival!!
Knowing what I know now as a birth doula and childbirth educator, I would have made some different choices concerning the tale end of my pregnancy and Mordy’s birth, but I just didn’t know all my options then and new research about best practices emerges all the time. I was very afraid my entire pregnancy and struggled with so much anxiety related to being able to even make it to full term. After hearing so many horror stories, I also had a lot of fear surrounding giving birth in the hospital (hiring a doula would have been so helpful for me!!). I remember feeling really well cared for by my MFM and OB team though. They always gave me time, listened to my questions, and worked hard to honor the most important things in my birth plan. Overall I am thankful for kind providers who care well for their patients, a safe birth, and a happy now 7-year-old son who still delights me daily!!
Have you ever had a VBAC? Or are you planning one for this next birth? How has that choice been received by your medical team?